I am a Latin America focused analyst and writer. I split my time between New York City and Mexico City. I have written feature articles on business, organized crime, politics, and culture for The Atlantic, MONOCLE, Americas Quarterly, The Nation, Lapham's Quarterly, and a number of other publications. I have worked on projects along Mexico's northern border as well as in the hills of places like Jalisco, Michoacan, and Guerrero. I have a Master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University (SIPA). In the last few years I've had the chance to work on projects in Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, India, and China. Follow me on Twitter: LatAmLENS.

Is Mexico Safe To Visit For Spring Break?

A few months ago, I rode with a municipal police patrol past many of Acapulco’s historic hotels towards the cliffs in the city’s La Quebrada district, an area where locals and tourists were gathering to watch divers and sip beers by the side of the road. Despite continued struggles with organized crime related murders, Mexico continues to attract millions of tourists every year. In March 2013 nearly 1.9 million U.S. citizens flew to Mexico. During the course of 2013 more than 20 million U.S. citizens flew south to visit Mexico. Despite improvements to security in many parts of the country many travelers continue to voice concerns about safety issues in Mexico.

Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year for study, tourism, and business, including more than 150,000 who cross the border every day. The Mexican government dedicates substantial resources to protect visitors to major tourist destinations, and there is no evidence that Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) have targeted U.S. visitors or residents based on their nationality. Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico generally do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime that are reported in the border region or in areas along major trafficking routes.

While Cancun and Nayarit remain popular destinations for luxury travelers and Oaxaca and Mexico City still attract thousands of visitors seeking an introduction into Mexico’s culture and history, many other cities in the country are also working to attract tourists.

Officials in the border city of Juarez, which sits just across from El Paso are laboring to rebuild the city’s image and attract visitors.

The State Department travel warning explains, “Although homicide rates in Ciudad Juarez have decreased markedly from a peak several years ago, the city still has one of the highest homicide rates in Mexico. Crime and violence remain serious problems throughout the state of Chihuahua [but] U.S. citizens do not, however, appear to be targeted based on their nationality.”

Although Juarez was dubbed Murder City as an inter-cartel dispute turned it into the most violent city in the world in 2010, over the last two years security has improved. In early March 2014, a 19-year-old man from El Paso and a 28-year-old man were found stabbed to death in the trunk of a car in Juarez. Overall, though, the perception among locals is that security is improving. According to Sergio Meza, director of Plan Estratégico de Juárez, “The situation of the city is less bad than in the last years. We are not in a critical situation anymore.”

A few years ago, when I visited Juarez, Martha Messina, a representative of the city’s Ministry of Economy office told me, “There’s a lot of life in the businesses here, but they only talk about the negative.”

Between 2007 and 2013 more than 10,000 people were killed in Juarez. In 2013 however, fewer than 500 murders were reported in Juarez, less than a sixth of the total for 2010.

Recently, the city launched a “Come Back” campaign designed to promote Juarez as a tourist destination. Jose Arturo Ramos, a representative from the Ciudad Juárez municipal government said, “That’s the message to get across to the U.S.: We’re alive and well, and you can have fun, do business and it will be good.”

In January 2014, Honeywell inaugurated a new facility in Juarez. The $10 million plant is Honewell’s sixth facility in the state of Chihuahua. In 2013 Lear Corp opened a new facility in Juarez where it now produces automotive components for General Motors. In May 2013 at the plant’s opening, Charles Spratt, VP of Operation at Lear North America explained “Juarez’s competitiveness is obvious [for us].”

Automotive supply giant Delphi has more than 16,000 employees in Juarez. Lexmark has nearly 3,000 employees in Juarez.

While Juarez is working to attract industrial investment and also lure tourists from across the border in Texas, other cities in Mexico are working to recruit tourists to fly in from across the globe.

Acapulco, a resort city recovering from hurricane damage also struggles from ongoing problems with street crime. Photo by N. Parish Flannery @LatAMLENS

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